r 


/Philosophy 
Of  Color 


Published  by  Clifford  &  Lawton 

19     UNION     SQUARE,    NEW  YORK 


Copyright,  1904 
By  Clifford  &  Lawton 


The  PHILOSOPHY  ^?/COLOR 


1.    Color  Nomenclatvire. 

HE  harmony  of  color  is 
a  visible  expression  of 
one's  mental  joy. 
In  music  it  is  an  estab- 
lished fact  that  certain 
notes  used  in  combina- 
tion produce  harmonious 
sounds.  The  moment 
that  more  than  one  note  is  struck,  there  is 
danger  of  discord,  and  when  ten  notes  re- 
sound to  the  touch  of  the  player,  they  must 
be  the  right  notes,  or  the  sounds  jar  upon 
the  sensibilities. 

In  the  use  of  color  the  same  law  of  exactness 


6 


Philosophy 


applies,  and  this  treatise  is  an  attempt  to  ana- 
lyze and  understand  the  law. 
Color  nomenclature  includes  three  primary 
colors,  three  secondary  colors,  three  tertiary 
colors,  and  innumerable  shades  and  tints  and 
modulations.  All  these  colors  bear  relations 
to  one  another,  either  relations  of  analogy, 
like  the  relations  of  red  to  orange,  or  relations 
of  contrast,  like  red  to  green.  It  is  a  knowl- 
edge of  these  relations  of  one  color  to  another 
that  must  be  grasped  before  one  may  success- 
fully produce  results  that  are  desirable. 

Let  us  first  understand  what  constitutes  pure 
color. 

When  a  ray  of  sunshine  passes  through  a  glass 
prism  it  is  decomposed  or  separated,  and  if 
the  prismatic  colors  are  received  upon  a  white 
screen,  you  will  there  find  a  pure  blue^  a  pure 
redy  and  a  pure  yellow. 

These  are  colors  of  the  spectrum,  and  known  as 
the  primary  colors ;  and  it  is  necessary,  when 
speaking  of  any  color,  to  bear  these  colors  of 
the  spectrum  in  mind  as  standards  —  a  blue, 
for  instance,  that  is  the  blue  of  the  spectrum, 


of  Color 


7 


and  not  a  blue  that  is  "prussian,"  "cobalt," 
or    sky  blue." 

In  speaking  of  harmony,  moreover,  we  must 
understand  that  there  are  two  distinct  kinds — 
the  HARMONY  of  ANALOGY,  which  consists  of 
the  harmony  of  related  colors  or  tones  of  one 
color,  and  the  harmony  of  contrast,  which  is 
composed  of  colors  in  no  way  related.  As  an  of 
example  of  harmony  of  analogy,  we  would 
mention  red  and  orange,  because  both  of  these 
colors  have  ingredients  in  common,  red  being 
one  of  the  two  component  parts  of  orange. 
As  an  example  of  the  harmony  of  contrast,  we 
would  mention  red  and  green,  because  there  is 
nothing  in  common  between  the  two,  red  be- 
ing a  primary  color,  and  green  a  secondary, 
composed  of  the  other  two  primaries,  yellow 
and  blue. 

Green  is  therefore  called  the  complementary 
of  red. 

Thus  the  complementary  of  .  blue  would  be 
orange,  because  orange  is  formed  by  combin- 
ing the  remaining  primaries,  red  and  yellow ; 
and  the  complementary  of  yellow  would  be 
violet,  because  violet  is  composed  of  blue  and 
red,  the  other  primaries. 


Definitions. 

Primary  colors  are  blue,  red  and  yellow. 

Secondary  colors  are  orange,  green  and  violet,  each 
a  combination  of  two  primaries. 

Tertiary  colors  are  colors  made  by  combining 
two  secondary  colors  ;  tertiary  colors  are  slate,  rus- 
set and  citrine. 

Quaternary  colors  are  made  by  combining  two  ter- 
tiary colors. 

A  COMPLEMENTARY  color  is  that  color  of  a  set  of  three 
colors  produced  by  combining  two,  which  result  is 
termed  the  "  complementary "  of  the  third  color. 
Thus  green  is  the  complementary  of  red  in  the 
primary  set,  because  composed  of  yellow  and  blue. 

Scale  as  in  music  relates  to  a  sequence  of  notes  of 
the  same  degree  of  tone. 

Luminous  colors  are  warm  colors — yellow,  orange, 
red,  hght  tints  of  green,  and  some  light  tones  of 
sombre  colors. 

Sombre  colors  are  blue,  violet  and  the  subdued  tones 
of  luminous  colors. 

Cold  colors  are  the  same  as  sombre  colors. 

Gray — A  normal  gray  consists  of  pure  black  and 
white  mixed.  Where  white  predominates,  it  be- 
comes a  light  gray,  and  where  black  predominates, 
a  dark  gray. 


Philosophy  of  Color 


II 


Colored  grays  are  normal  grays  to  which  a  primary 
or  a  secondary  color  is  added. 

Hue  is  the  change  produced  in  a  color  by  the  addi- 
tion of  another  color,  although  the  original  color 
must  always  be  in  the  ascendency. 

Shade  is  the  tone  of  color  produced  by  the  addition 
of  black. 

Tint  is  the  tone  of  color  produced  by  the  addition 
of  white. 

Tones  are  the  gradations  of  a  color  by  adding  either 
black  or  white. 


12 


Philosophy 


DIAGRAM  I, 


2.    Composition  of  Color. 


HE  above  chart  shows  the  manner  in 
which  the  various  colors  are  formed. 


Red,  yellow  and  blue  occupy  the  centre  circle. 
The  next  circle  is  also  divided  into  thirds,  vio- 
let^ orange  and  green,  and  by  examining  same 


of  Color 


13 


it  will  be  seen  that  green  contains  one  part 
each  of  blue  and  yellow ;  violet  contains  one 
part  each  of  red  and  blue ;  orange,  one  part 
each  of  red  and  yellow. 

The  third  circle  shows  how  slate,  citrine  and  ^  .  ^  j 
russet  are  made.  For  instance,  slate  is  one  Diagram 
part  of  violet  and  one  part  of  green.    Hence,  a  ScHemea 


RUSSET  3 
RED  1 


GREEN  2 
SAGE  A 


DIAGRAM  II. 


4 


Philosophy  o/Color 


tertiary  color  is  made  of  equal  parts  of  two 
secondaries. 

The  three  outer  circles,  olive,  sage  and  plum, 
can  be  analyzed  in  the  same  way,  sage,  for  in- 
stance, being  composed  of  one  part  slate,  with 
one-half  part  citrine. 

This  diagram  No.  i  is  arranged  to  show  not  only 
component  parts  of  a  color,  but  the  parts  that 
properly  harmonize. 


3.    TKe  Contrast  of  Color. 

TN  DIAGRAM  2  we  have  arranged  at  oppo- 
site points  of  the  intersecting  lines  all  of 
the  primary,  secondary  and  tertiary  colors, 
marking  the  primaries  i,  the  secondaries  2,  and 
the  tertiaries  3.  It  will  be  recalled  that  in  re- 
ferring to  harmonies  of  contrast  we  explained 
that  a  primary  color  contrasts  with  its  com- 
plementary color,  or  the  color  made  up  by 
mixing  the  remaining  two  primaries.  Thus  red 


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Philosophy  o/Color 


harmonizes  with  green,  because  green  is  made 
up  by  combining  blue  and  yellow. 
This  diagram  shows  the  contrasting  colors 
very  clearly.    Red,  No.  i,  contrasts  with  the 
color  immediately  opposite,  marked  No.  2. 
Blue,  No.  I,  contrasts  with  the  color  imme- 
diately opposite,  orange.  No.  2. 
Yellow,  No.  I,  contrasts  with  the  color  on  the 
end  of  the  line,  violet.  No.  2. 
So  on  with  the  tertiary  and  quaternary  colors. 
Russet,  No.  3,  contrasts  with  sage,  No.  4. 
But  the  diagram.  No.  i,  goes  further  into  the 
subject. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  that  orange  is  a  mix- 
ture of  red  and  yellow,  but  it  is  not  so  easy  to 
know  what  russet  is,  or  what  slate  is,  and  it  is 
still  more  difficult  to  analyze  plum,  sage  and 
olive,  without  a  chart.  But  once  understand- 
ing that  plum  is  a  combination  of  one  part  rus- 
set and  one-half  part  slate,  and  that  russet  is 
half  violet  and  half  orange,  and  so  forth  (see 
chart),  it  is  easy  to  arrange  any  kind  of  har- 
monies— harmonies  of  related  parts  or  harmo- 
nies of  dissimilar  or  contrasting  parts. 


4'.    TKe  Decorative  Application  of  Color. 

TT  IS  a  safe  rule  in  small  apartments  or  apart- 
ments with  low  ceilings,  or  in  cases  where 
the  decorator  is  not  sure  of  his  grasp  of  the  sub- 
ject, to  employ  as  the  color  scheme  a  three- 
color  harmony  of  analogy. 
Or,  we  might  take  one  of  the  three  quater- 
nary colors,  sagCy  and  combine  with  it  the 
related  tertiary  and  secondary  colors :  one 
part  slate  and  one-half  citrine,  which  compose 
sage;  also,  the  constituent  parts  which  make 
slate  and  citrine,  or  one-half  violet,  three- 
fourths  green  and  one-quarter  orange. 
These  proportions  are  well  worth  a  little 
study. 

Sage  uses  slate  and  citrine,  but  when  we  ana- 
lyze citrine  we  discover  there  is  a  little  red  in 
it,  only  to  that  degree  wherein  red  enters  into 
orange.    Therefore,  in  using  a  pure  red  in  a 


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Philosophy 


room  with  a  background  of  sage,  very  little 
pure  red  is  needed. 

Taking  sage,  then,  as  the  tone  of  background, 
in  order  to  determine  a  harmony  of  analogy 
we  must  combine  with  it  all  of  its  constituent 
parts  in  the  proportions  in  which  they  occur. 
^  Therefore,  we  draw  an  imaginary  line  between 
QxiicK  A  and  B,  which  marks  the  composition  of  sage. 

Guide. 

We  then  discover  the  following  analysis : 

Sage  equals  one  part  slate  plus  one-half  part  citrine. 

One  part  slate  equals  one-half  part  violet  plus  one- 
half  part  green. 

One-half  part  citrine  equals  one-quarter  part  green 
plus  one-quarter  part  orange. 

One-half  part  violet  equals  one-quarter  part  blue  plus 
one-quarter  part  red. 

One-half  part  green  equals  one-quarter  part  blue  plus 
one  quarter  part  yellow. 

One-quarter  part  green  equals  one-eighth  part  blue 
plus  one-eighth  part  yellow. 

One-quarter  part  orange  equals  one-eighth  part  yellow 
plus  one-eighth  part  red. 

Reducing  the  fractions  we  discover  that, 

Sage  equals  the  sum  of  one  part  slate  and  one-half 
citrine,  or  one  and  one-half  parts  or  twelve-eighths. 

Slate,  by  the  same  reasoning,  equals  two  halves  or 
eight-eighths. 


Illustrating  the  composition  and  contrast  of  colors  of  the  normal 
scale.  Each  of  the  three  primaries  in  the  centre  harmonizes  by 
contrast  with  the  secondary  color  immediately  opposite,  and  by 
analogy  with  all  the  colors  back  of  it.  Printed  for  Clifford  & 
Lawton  by  the  Quadri-Color  Co., 32  Union  Square,  East. 


of  Color 


19 


Citrine  equals  one-half  or  four-eighths. 
Violet  equals  one-half  or  four-eighths. 
Green  equals  three-quarters  or  six-eighths. 
Orange  equals  one-quarter  or  two-eighths. 

Hence,  the  colors  to  be  used  in  composition 
with  sage  as  a  background  would  be  in  pro- 
portions : 

Twelve  parts  sage,  eight  parts  slate,  four  parts  citrine, 
four  parts  violet,  six  parts  green,  two  parts  orange. 
In  all,  thirty-six  parts,  of  which  sage  is  one-third 
or  twelve  parts. 

If  we  take  these  proportions  and  apply  them 
to  a  room  or  to  a  wall-paper  or  to  any  scheme 
of  decoration,  we  can  use  them  by  applying 
sage  as  a  background  color  of  all,  to  be  one- 
third  in  evidence  when  the  work  is  completed ; 
or  we  can  apply  the  colors  to  a  white  back- 
ground, using  sage  in  the  proportions  herein- 
before described,  so  that  twelve  parts  of  that 
color  shall  be  used  in  the  decorations  where 
only  eight  parts  slate,  four  parts  citrine,  etc., 
are  used. 

Let  us  take,  for  instance,  a  room  that  is  in 
white  woodwork,  and  apply  the  sage  to  the 
walls  and  the  slate  to  the  floor,  and  lighten 
the  sage  with  citrine  and  lighten  the  slate 


20 


Philosophy  (?/Color 


with  violet,  and  intersperse  orange  and  green 
in  a  way  permitted  by  the  proportions  at  our 
command.  When  the  work  is  completed  we 
find  a  harmony  of  analogy  which  can  be 
then  relieved  by  small  touches  of  the  primi- 
tive colors,  blue,  red  and  yellow,  to  sharpen 
and  to  emphasize. 


TKe  /^RNAMENTS  in  color  on  a  gold  ground 
Flat  J  should  be  separated  from  the  ground  by 

an  edging  of  darker  color. 

Gold  ornaments  on  a  colored  ground  should 

be  outlined  with  black. 

Ornaments  of  any  color  should  be  separated 
from  the  ground  of  any  other  color  by  an 
edging  of  lighter  color,  or  white,  black  or  gold, 
although  ornaments  in  any  color  or  in  gold 
may  be  used  on  white  or  black  grounds  with- 
out outline  or  edging. 


3.    A.  QviicK  Way-  of  Determining  Color 


HE  letters  RV  mean  reddish  violet,  being 


a  violet  having  more  red  than  blue  in  its 
composition.  BV  means  bluish  violet,  being  a 
violet  having  more  blue  than  red  in  its  com- 
position. BG  means  bluish  green,  being  a 
green  having  more  blue  than  yellow  in  its 
composition.  YG  means  yellowish  green,  be- 
ing a  green  having  more  yellow  than  blue  in 
its  composition.  YO  means  yellowish  orange, 
being  an  orange  having  more  yellow  than  red 
in  its  composition.  RO  means  reddish  orange, 
being  an  orange  having  more  red  than  yellow 
in  its  composition.  Thus  a  red  may  change 
to  a  yellow  by  gradations  almost  impercepti- 
ble, the  change  being  the  addition  of  yellow, 
little  by  httle,  to  a  reddish  orange,  and  so  on, 
gradually,  to  an  orange,  continuing  on  to  a 
yellowish  orange,  and,  finally,  to  a  yellow.  The 
contrasting  color  at  any  stage  may  be  deter- 


Contrasts. 


Philosophy  <?/Color 


23 


mined  by  proceeding  in  a  direct  line  across  the 
circle.  For  instance,  take  reddish  orange. 
We  know  that  red  has  for  its  contrasting  com- 
plementary a  green ;  reddish  orange  would 
have  for  its  contrasting  color  a  bluish  green, 
for  the  simple  reason  that  if  red  combines  with 
green  and  orange  combines  with  blue,  the  color 
between  the  red  and  the  orange  would  com- 
bine with  the  color  between  the  green  and  the 
blue.  Let  us  determine  the  contrasting  color 
for  crimson,  a  very  popular  color.  Crimson 
is  simply  a  red  slightly  touched  with  blue. 
If  red  combines  with  green,  a  shade  a  little  to 
the  left  of  red  tinged  slightly  with  blue  would 
combine  with  a  shade  a  little  to  the  right  of 
green  slightly  tinged  with  yellow.  In  other 
words,  a  crimson  would  combine  with  a  slightly 
yellowish  green.  Determine  at  what  point  of 
the  circle  any  color  that  you  have  in  mind  will 
come  and  the  contrasting  color  will  be  im- 
mediately opposite.    See  page  13. 


6.    An  Elxample  Treatment. 

'^HE  decorator  who  has  the  faculty  of  har- 
monizing existing  conditions  and  pro- 
ducing a  room  that  is  beautiful  in  color  and 
beautiful  in  e7isemble  effect  can  achieve  more 
for  the  public  at  large  than  he  who  attempts 
nothing  but  strictly  period  work  for  the  few 
able  to  pay  for  it — to  say  nothing  of  that  class 
more  limited  still  who  are  able  to  appreciate 
it,  for  the  full  value  of  a  work  that  is  consist- 
ently historic  is  very  seldom  appreciated. 
We  all  know  that  a  northern  exposure  gives  a 
room  a  deficiency  of  sunlight,  and  the  wall 
treatment  should  supply  this.  A  southern 
room,  on  the  other  hand,  gives  so  much  sun- 
light that  counteracting  wall  treatments  in 
cold  color  are  permissible. 
In  the  color  treatment  of  a  room  one  has 
either  to  adopt  a  harmony  of  analogy  or  a  har- 
mony of  contrast,  and  this  is  a  matter  which 


Philosophy  of  Color 


27 


depends   upon  so  many  conditions  that  it 
should  be  carefully  considered.  Where  a  plate 
rail  is  used  one  must  remember  that  a  great 
deal  of  color  may  be  furnished  by  the  bric-a- 
brac,  and  that  the  wall  should  furnish  behind 
this  plate  rail  a  suitable  background. 
When  we  follow  a  scheme  of  contrast  the  bor- 
ders should  be  usually  complementaries,  and 
if  the  reader  has  studied  our  diagram  he 
will  very  readily  understand  how  to  determine 
the  exact  complementary  color.    For  yellow 
hangings,  for  instance,  violet  and  blue ;  for 
green  hangings,  red  in  all  its  shades ;  for  blue 
hangings,  orange  and  yellow. 
The  wainscoting  or  dado  should  be  the  same 
as  the  top  border  or  frieze,  but  of  a  darker  tone.  ^^^^^ 
The  intermixture  of  white  or  black  is  always  Dado 
permissible  ;  thus  a  paper  as  a  side-wall  might 
have  as  its  frieze  the  complementary  coloring 
with  more  white,  while  the  wainscoting  or  dado 
should  be  the  same  with  black  added. 
The  cornice  is,  of  course,  lighter  than  the  bor- 
der, and  its  members  may  show  several  tints, 
with  the  ceiling  lighter  still. 
As  a  rule  the  color  of  the  chair  coverings 
should  be  the  complementary  of  the  side- walls. 


28 


Philosophy 


and  the  color  of  the  furniture  frames  should 
be  complementary  to  the  wainscoting  ;  so  by 
following  this  rule  we  find  that  the  wainscot- 
ing serves  as  a  contrasting  background  to  the 
chair  frame,  which  is  always  desirable. 
Let  us  imagine  a  room  wherein  the  side-walls 
are  of  a  reddish  tint ;  the  wainscoting  being  a 
complementary  color,  is  of  a  greenish  cast, 
like  old  Spanish  leather  or  olive  wood.  Now, 
the  furniture,  let  us  say,  is  mahogany.  That 
means  it  is  of  a  reddish  brown,  and  it  stands 
out  in  contrast  to  the  wainscoting,  while  the 
chair  covering,  being  greenish  in  contrast  to 
the  chair  frame,  it  is  also  in  contrast  to  the 
side-wall.  Here  we  have,  then,  the  color  re- 
lations of  side-wall,  wainscoting  and  furniture- 
frames  and  covering;  but  it  is  undesirable 
that  these  tones  should  be  alike. 
The  rules  cover  the  principle,  but  the  man 
must  supply  the  judgment. 
The  wainscoting,  or  dado,  in  such  a  case  as  the 
above  is  of  a  deep  tone  of  the  frieze,  and  the 
side -wall  proper  is  complementary  to  the 
green  before  it  is  lightened  for  the  frieze  or 
darkened  for  the  dado. 

The  vital  point  we  would  impress  is  that. 


of  Color 


29 


knowing  the  character  of  the  furniture  in  the 
room,  you  start  with  a  properly  contrasting 
wainscoting  and  build  from  that. 


7.    TKe  Related  Parts  of  a  Room. 

'T^HE  carpet  should  enter  into  the  color 
scheme  as  the  low  note  in  the  scale.  It  is 
the  background  for  the  furniture,  and  should 
be  of  a  softer  tone  than  the  wainscoting.  The 
woodwork,  baseboard,  doors,  moldings,  plate 
rails,  and  everything  of  that  character,  except 
it  be  the  picture  molding,  should  be  like  the 
woodwork  of  the  furniture.  This  brings  the 
woodwork  into  contrast  with  the  wainscoting 
and  into  harmony  with  the  side-walls,  although 
the  degree  of  harmony  is  far  removed.  Thus, 
if  the  woodwork  of  the  furniture  is  mahogany, 
the  wainscoting  green,  the  side-walls  pink  and 
gray,  we  would  find  the  window  frame  also  of 


30 


Philosophy 


mahogany,  or  imitation  mahogany,  in  har- 
mony with  the  side-walls.  I  would  lay  down 
the  rule  that  the  wood  trims  of  a  room  should 
harmonize  by  analogy  with  the  side-walls  where 
such  walls  are  provided  with  a  contrasting 
wainscoting;  but  if  there  is  no  wainscoting 
then  the  order  of  things  is  changed.  There  is 
one  less  color  factor  in  the  furnishing  of  the 
scheme,  and  the  furniture  of  the  room  being 
then  in  contrast  with  the  side-walls,  instead  of  in 
contrast  with  the  wainscoting,  necessitates  that 
the  wood  trims  of  the  room,  which  must  har- 
monize with  the  furniture,  must  also  be  in 
contrast  with  the  side-walls. 
The  picture  molding  may  harmonize  with  the 
ceiling.  Indeed,  a  white  picture  molding 
frequently  is  better  than  one  matching  the 
general  woodwork,  because  a  dark  upper 
molding  reduces  the  apparent  size  of  a  room. 
Where  black  furniture  is  used,  or  gold  furni- 
ture, it  will,  of  course,  be  understood  that  the 
wood  trims  shall  not  be  black  or  gold  ;  but  so 
long  as  they  are  in  harmony,  that  will  be  suffi- 
cient. The  idea,  however,  of  painting  the 
woodwork  in  a  fresh  color  is,  to  my  mind,  ex- 
ecrable.    The  woodwork  may  be  in  tones  of 


of  Color 


31 


gray,  or  in  natural  wood  tones,  but  never  in 
pronounced  color. 
To  summarize : 
First, 

The  side-walls,  the  furniture-woodwork,  wood 
trimming,  and  the  curtains  should  be  related. 
Second, 

The  frieze,  wainscoting  or  dado,  chair  uphol- 
sterings  and  the  curtain  borders  should  be 
related. 

The  Second  Class  should  be  in  tones  comple- 
mentary to  the  First. 

Should  the  curtains  have  no  borders,  then  the 
curtains  contrast  with  the  wood  trims. 
Suppose  your  furniture  frames  are  of  ash,  or 
grayish  yellow  :  the  frieze  should  be  a  violet ; 
the  side-walls,  yellow ;  the  wainscoting,  deep 
violet ;  the  furniture,  grayish  yellow  or  ash 
upholstered  with  pale  violet ;  the  wood  trims, 
of  a  deep  tone  of  ash  ;  the  curtains,  deep  yel- 
low, with  a  border  of  deep  violet.  If  we  pre- 
serve these  relations  it  would  be  an  easy 
matter  to  plan  almost  any  color  scheme  and 
succeed.  Deep  violet  is  simply  violet  to  which 
black  has  been  added,  and  if  violet  combines 
with  yellow,  a  deep  violet  would  combine  with 


32 


Philosophy  of  Color 


a  deep  yellow.  If  we  find  that  the  tone  of 
color  of  the  wainscoting,  for  instance,  is  a 
bluish  green,  the  side-wall  should  be  of  a  red- 
dish orange,  for  the  reason  that  if  green  con- 
trasts with  red  and  if  blue  contrasts  with 
orange,  a  bluish  green  would  contrast  with  a 
reddish  orange ;  but,  as  it  is  impracticable  to 
change  the  color  of  your  furniture,  it  is  al- 
ways advisable  to  start  the  color  scheme  with 
furniture  and  let  other  things  harmonize  there- 
with .  Harmony  is  simply  a  pleasing  ensemble^ 
the  arrangement  of  parts  between  which  there 
is  affinity. 


8.    The  Use  of  WHite,  Gray  and  BlacK. 

'T'O  PLACE  white  by  the  side  of  a  color 
heightens  or  intensifies  the  tone  of  that 
color.  To  put  black  beside  a  color  has  the 
opposite  effect.  It  weakens  the  color.  With- 
out explaining  the  reason  for  this,  we  would 


Philosophy  ^?/Color 


35 


call  attention  to  the  obvious  fact  which  has 
been  long  known  to  women.  Every  woman 
looks  better  in  white,  hence  white  is  the 
universal  wedding  gown,  the  universal  party 
dress  for  children,  and,  wherever  practicable, 
the  universal  Summer  dress  for  adults  as 
well.  White  is  worn  universally  by  men  and 
women  next  the  face,  in  collars  or  in  neck- 
wear, and  the  reason  for  it  is  that  to  even 
those  of  a  pallid  complexion  the  contiguous 
white  shows  up  whatever  little  color  one  may 
possess.  Black,  on  the  other  hand,  lessens 
the  color  and  lowers  its  tone.  We  mention 
these  examples  to  impress  the  fact  that  white 
is  a  desirable  combination  in  rooms  of  sombre 
colorings. 

On  the  other  hand,  gray  is  a  medium  be- 
tween the  two.  While  it  renders  an  adjacent 
color  less  brilliant,  at  the  same  time  it  takes 
to  itself  a  tint  that  is  a  complementary  of  that 
adjacent  color.  In  other  words,  gray  by  the 
side  of  green  appears  a  pinkish.  Hence,  if 
one  wishes  to  obtain  this  pinkish  tint  in  the 
gray  as  a  complementary  to  green,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  tint  the  gray ;  it  gets  this  tint  by 
reflection.    These  are  simple  facts  which  are 


36 


Philosophy 


worth  remembering,  especially  at  this  time, 
when  so  much  Colonial  furnishing  is  under- 
taken and  white  woodwork  is  used,  and  so 
much  Dutch  furnishing  is  undertaken,  requir- 
ing dull  woodwork,  and  so  much  of  the  Arts 
and  Crafts  sort  of  thing  is  being  done,  re- 
quiring weathered  oak  or  gray  woodwork. 
Where  one  associates  colors  with  white  the 
result  is  what  you  might  call  a  simple  con- 
trast, inasmuch  as  we  obtain  an  effect  of  the 
combination  intensified  by  the  proximity  of 
the  white. 

The  use  of  dull  tones  or  dark  colors  reduces 
the  apparent  size  of  a  room  by  darkening  it, 
but  this  may  be  sometimes  obviated  by  keep- 
i^g  and*^"        the  picture  rail  of  a  light  color.    Indeed,  a 
Receding  room  apparently  small  is  given  the  appearance 
Colors  greater  size  by  the  use  of  a  white  picture 

molding. 

Remember  that  sombre  or  heavy  colors  are 
"advancing"  colors;  they  seem  to  come  at 
you;  while  light  tones  are  "receding,"  and 
give  distance  effect ;  hence,  receding  colors 
should  be  used  in  narrow  or  small  rooms. 
Black  is  always  desirable  as  an  associate  with 
luminous  colors,  although  with  some  sombre 


of  Color 


37 


TJs« 
of 


colors,  such  as  blue  and  violet,  black  assists 
in  the  making  of  a  pleasing  harmony  of  anal- 
ogy. Black  does  not  associate  so  well  with 
two  colors  one  of  which  is  luminous  and  the 
other  sombre,  as  when  associated  with  two 
luminous  colors.  White  is  preferable  when  BiacK 
associated  with  a  luminous  and  a  sombre  color. 
Thus,  red,  white  and  blue,  orange,  white  and 
blue,  red,  white  and  violet,  orange,  white  and 
violet,  yellow,  white  and  blue,  green,  white 
and  blue,  green,  white  and  violet.  Remem- 
ber this  in  the  use  of  Colonial  plate  rails. 


/^NE  thing  I  would  have  the  decorator  dis- 
miss  from  his  mind,  and  that  is  the  asso- 
ciation of  certain  colors  with  certain  woods. 
You  mention  mahogany  to  some  men  and 
they  immediately  think  of  green  as  the  right 
complementary.  If  you  speak  of  oak,  they 
think  of  blue ;  but  it  is  not  a  matter  so  easily 
settled. 

True,  if  mahogany  is  of  a  reddish-brown  tint, 
a  certain  shade  of  green  is  properly  called  for  ; 
but  there  are  shades  of  mahogany,  light  and 
dark,  vivid  and  dull ;  and  one  must  con- 
sider also  relative  surface  influence.    Is  it  a 


Wood 
Colors 


38 


Philosophy  of  Color 


mere  narrow  strip  of  wood  or  a  broad  section  ? 
Presuming  that  the  mahogany  is  of  a  pro- 
nounced reddish  shade  of  brown,  green  is  not 
necessarily  the  only  thing  to  go  with  it ;  pos- 
sibly a  fabric  of  variegated  color  treatment 
might  be  used — reds,  yellows,  blues,  greens, 
a  perfect  garden  of  coloring,  providing  always 
that  green,  the  complementary  tone  of  the 
mahogany-red,  shall  predominate. 
The  subject  also  involves  questions  of  fit- 
ness as  well  as  harmony ;  a  banker's  office  and 
a  lady's  reception-room  may  be  both  mahogany 
trimmed,  but  should  be  treated  in  different 
color-ways.  Above  all,  do  not  allow  your  per- 
sonal color-sympathies  to  dominate  your  work. 
In  everyone's  nature  there  exists  a  color  tone  ; 
there  are  some  of  us  who  run  to  reds,  and  as 
we  have  no  love  for  blue,  we  seldom  employ 
it,  but  we  must  know  that  all  colors  have 
their  usefulness,  for  there  are  occasions  where 
it  is  proper  they  should  be  used,  apart  from 
any  question  of  harmony ;  one  must  consider 
always  the  uses  of  colors,  the  lights,  and  the 
purpose  of  the  room  under  treatment. 


9.    Color  by  Scale. 

TN  COLOR,  as  in  music,  discords  result 
from  ignorance  of  the  commonplace  rules 
of  harmony. 

Music  is  the  result  of  a  system  of  three 
fundamental  chords  which  contain  all  the 
tones  properly  belonging  to  the  Scale  of  that 
mode.  These  chords  are  the  tonic,  the  domi- 
nant and  the  subdominant.  We  have  a  simi- 
lar completeness  of  Scale  in  color  tone,  and 
the  most  serious  mistake  which  the  colorist 
perpetrates  is  failure  to  observe  the  quality  of 
his  Scale.  He  conceives,  for  instance,  a  com- 
bination of  red  and  green,  or  orange  and  blue ; 
but  he  is  seldom  able  to  determine  the  exact 
shade  of  either. 

It  is  an  easy  matter  to  do  this  if  we  bear 
in  mind  that  as  the  tuning  fork  gives  a  fixed 
tone  in  music,  so  the  spectrum  gives  the  fixed 
tone  in  color. 

We  have  through  the  spectrum  a  fixed  yel- 


Philosophy  of  Color 


41 


low,  red  and  blue ;  they  are  the  primary 
colors;  by  combining  any  two  of  them  we 
have  the  fixed  secondary  colors ;  by  combin- 
ing any  two  of  the  secondary  colors  we  have 
the  tertiaries. 

All  are  thus  in  the  same  color  scale. 
At  this  point  it  is  well  to  emphasize  the 
facts  as  shown  in  diagram,  page  13.  Red  is  in 
direct  contrast  to  the  opposite  color,  green, 
which  is  made  up  by  combining  the  other 
two  primaries,  blue  and  yellow.  In  the  same 
manner  one  may  discover  by  the  diagram  that 
orange,  marked  2  (because  a  secondary  color), 
is  in  direct  contrast  with  slate,  marked  3  (be- 
cause a  tertiary  color),  made  by  combining 
violet  and  green,  the  other  two  secondary 
colors.  These  nine  colors  are  of  the  natural 
scale ;  they  start  from  the  color  keynote  in  the 
spectrum. 

In  music  the  scale  is  a  succession  of  notes 
arranged  in  the  order  of  pitch,  and  a  piece 
of  music  is  written  in  a  given  pitch.  The 
scale  consists  of  a  series  of  seven  steps  lead- 
ing from  a  given  note.  In  color,  the  scale  is  in 
the  same  order  of  pitch,  and  a  color  compo- 
sition, to  be  either  in  harmony  of  analogy  or 


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44 


Philosophy 


contrast,  should  follow  a  given  key  and  inva- 
riably be  in  the  same  scale. 
If  we  have  a  pink  and  wish  to  carry  a  color 
scale  in  harmony  therewith,  we  must  deter- 
mine first  how  much  white  was  added  to  the 
primary  red  to  make  it  a  pink,  and  adding  a 
similar  quantity  of  white  to  the  other  primary 
colors,  blue  and  yellow,  we  easily  obtain  the 
secondaries  and  tertiaries. 
If  instead  of  pink  the  red  is  of  a  deep  shade 
requiring  added  black,  the  same  process  is 
followed. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  colors  under 
consideration  are  neither  primaries,  secon- 
daries nor  tertiaries,  but  mixed  colors,  like  a 
crimson,  we  must  proceed  to  obtain  the  scale 
of  such  a  color  in  a  different  manner.  (See 
diagram,  page  13.) 

For  example,  let  us  presume  that  we  have 
crimson  and  we  wish  the  scale  of  crimson. 
Crimson  is  a  variation  of  red.  It  is  made  by 
adding  a  little  blue.  If  to  the  red  a  little 
yellow  is  added  instead  of  blue,  the  color 
would  be  scarlet;  if  a  little  more  yellow  is 
added  it  would  be  orange.  If  we  bear  the 
diagram  in  mind  we  find  the  subject  much 


of  Color 


45 


simplified.  The  diagram  is  divided  first  into 
the  primary  colors,  red,  blue  and  yellow,  each 
occupy ng  one-third.  If  the  red  territory  of 
one-third  trespasses  a  little  upon  the  blue  ter- 
ritory and  absorbs  just  that  much  of  the  blue 
character,  it  becomes  crimson  or  reddish  violet 
(R.  V.) ;  if  the  yellow  is  moved  up  to  the  same 
degree  over  the  red  it  becomes  a  yellowish 
orange  (Y.  O.);  if  the  blue  is  moved  in  the 
same  degree  over  the  yellow  territory  it  be- 
comes bluish  green  (B.  G.).  Hence  the  pri- 
mary scale  of  crimson  would  be  crimson  or 
red  violet,  yellowish  orange  and  bluish  green. 
In  the  same  way  we  determine  the  color 
scale  of  any  other  given  hue.  One  must 
always  establish  the  scale  of  color  by  fixing 
definitely  one  tint,  shade  or  hue  ;  the  rest  is 
a  matter  of  rule. 

We  would  not  be  understood  for  a  moment 
as  meaning  that  the  work  of  the  colorist 
is  merely  mechanical.  The  influences  of  color 
are  very  largely  the  result  of  proportions  ;  the 
scale  of  color  is  law,  but  the  effects  are  pro- 
duced by  what  in  music  we  call  expression. 


46 


Philosophy 


O  ECALLING  that  the  primary  colors  are 
yellow,  red  and  blue,  and  that  the  second- 
ary colors  are  orange,  violet  and  green,  and 
that  the  tertiary  colors  are  russet,  slate  and 
citrine,  let  us  arrange  a  series  of  six  rooms 
seriatim,  so  treating  ceiling,  side-wall  and 
floor  that  in  passing  from  one  room  to  the 
other  they  will  be  in  sequence  of  color  har- 
mony— each  complete  from  floor  to  ceiling  and 
all  in  harmony  along  the  ceiUng  lines,  the 
wall  lines  and  the  floor  lines.  (Diagram  on 
page  40.) 

We  will  take  the  first  room,  the  third  and 
the  fifth  room  in  harmonies  of  the  three 
primiary  colors  top  and  bottom,  with  second- 
ary colors  along  the  side-walls.  Thus,  the 
first  room  would  have  yellow  frieze,  red  floor, 
with  the  side-wall  in  the  secondary  color, 
orange,  or  the  color  made  up  by  combining 
yellow  and  red,  and  here  we  have  a  complete 
harmony.  The  third  room  has  red  in  the 
frieze,  blue  on  the  floor  and  for  the  side-wall 
the  secondary  color,  violet,  which  is  made 
up  by  combining  red  and  blue.  So  with  the 
fifth  room,  we  have  blue  at  the  top,  yellow 
at  the  bottom  and  a  green  side-wall. 


of  Color 


47 


Now,  to  go  back,  we  will  use  the  second- 
ary color  nearest  to  yellow,  which  is  the 
frieze  of  the  first  room,  for  the  frieze  of  the 
second  room,  violet,  the  nearest  secondary  to 
red,  for  the  floor,  and  russet,  the  tertiary  color 
made  by  combining  orange  and  violet,  as  the 
side-wall.  So  with  the  fourth  room  ;  we  have 
violet  and  green  top  and  bottom,  both  second- 
ary colors,  with  slate  on  the  side-wall;  and  in 
the  sixth  room  we  have  green  at  the  top, 
orange  at  the  bottom  and  citrine  on  the  side- 
wall.  Thus  we  have  the  three  tertiary  colors, 
the  three  secondary  colors  and  the  three  pri- 
mary colors  in  the  six  rooms,  and  used  in  such 
a  way  that  there  is  a  complete  harmony. 
It  will  be  noticed  by  inspection  of  the  dia- 
gram that  this  is  not  an  accidental  arrange- 
ment. If  you  put  the  sixth  room  by  the  side 
of  the  first  room  you  will  find  that  orange  is  a 
direct  line  of  color  along  the  floor  of  the  sixth 
room,  the  side-wall  of  the  first  room  and  the 
frieze  of  the  second.  You  will  notice  that  in 
the  second  room  violet  starts  on  the  floor,  it 
continues  on  the  side-wall  of  the  third  room 
and  is  the  frieze  color  of  the  fourth  room. 
If  you  take  the  fourth  room,  green  is  at 


48 


Philosophy  0/ Color 


the  bottom  ;  it  is  again  on  the  side-wall  of  the 
fifth  room  and  is  at  the  top  of  the  sixth  room. 
This  diagram  is  useful  for  many  reasons. 
In  its  present  shape  it  shows  the  harmonies  of 
analogy  or  related  parts.  To  arrange  har- 
monies of  contrast  combine  the  colors  of  the 
first  room  with  the  fourth  room,  the  colors  of 
the  second  room  with  the  fifth  room,  the  colors 
of  the  third  room  with  the  sixth  room. 
We  then  find  yellow  and  violet  in  har- 
mony ;  orange  and  slate,  red  and  green,  orange 
and  blue,  russet  and  green,  violet  and  yellow, 
violet  and  citrine. 


lO.    As  Affecting  Room  Proportions. 

"^TOTHING  perplexes  the  decorator  more 
than  the  treatment  of  a  long  parlor  in 
the  average  city  house,  for  in  most  cases  the 
proportions  and  the  light  are  so  bad  that  it  is 
difficult  to  do  anything  that  doesn't  narrow 
the  dimensions  still  further.  In  some  in- 
stances the  length  is  broken  by  pillars  and 
overhead  grille  work,  so  as  to  make  two  rooms 
of  the  one.  But  when  this  scheme  is  imprac- 
ticable or  disapproved  the  straight-line  narrow- 
ness of  the  room  can  be  altered  by  a  judicious 
arrangement  of  the  furniture  and  colors. 
In  obtaining  proportion  effects  one  must  al- 
ways start  from  some  standpoint.  The  first 
view  of  any  room  is  from  the  main  or  princi- 
pal entrance,  and  as  first  impressions  are  im- 
portant, let  us  consider  the  arrangement  of  a 
room  viewed  from  the  main  entrance. 
Wide  effect  and  distance  effect  are  obtained 


Philosophy 


best  by  arranging  the  smallest  pieces  at  the 
furthest  point. 

It  is  the  same  with  pictures.  While  a  room 
wants  to  be  balanced,  and  the  pictures  placed 
in  a  manner  to  give  this  result,  it  is  best, 
where  possible,  to  keep  the  large  pictures, 
large  effects,  always  nearest  the  eye.  The 
crowding  of  large  pieces  at  the  furthest  point 
diminishes  the  apparent  size  of  the  room. 
The  use  of  reds,  orange  or  yellow,  or  any  warm 
colors,  is  to  be  avoided,  for  the  use  of  any  such 
colors  known  as  advancing  colors  also  dimin- 
ishes the  apparent  size  of  the  room. 
We  note  this  in  the  gray-blue  of  the  sky, 
which  appears  to  be  at  an  incomprehensible 
distance,  compared  with  the  red  and  golden 
sunsets,  which  frequently  look  close  at  hand. 
Receding  colors  in  the  furniture,  the  fabrics, 
the  walls,  the  pictures,  all  help.  Sharp  con- 
trasts in  colors  lessen  distance.  Continuous 
design  in  ceiling  or  carpet  weakens  the  size 
effect ;  hence  rugs  which  break  the  continuity 
and  are  laid  across  the  room  instead  of  length- 
wise are  preferable. 

It  is  a  safe  rule  to  do  a  small  or  narrow  room 
in  harmonies  of  analogy  or  related  colors, 


1 


of  Color 


51 


colors  of  a  light  tone,  and  receding  colors. 
Apart  from  any  effect  which  color  may  have 
decoratively  or  pictorially,  its  value  cannot  be 
overestimated,  as  it  applies  to  the  laws  of  pro- 
portion. 

Advancing  colors  are  colors  which  contain  red 
and  yellow  in  the  ascendancy ;  receding  colors 
are  those  which  contain  blue  in  the  ascend- 
ancy. Of  the  three  primary  colors  red  and 
yellow  would  be  advancing  colors ;  blue  would 
be  a  receding  color.  Green  in  its  purity,  be- 
ing half  yellow  and  half  blue,  is  almost  neu- 
tral. In  the  same  way  violet,  being  made  up 
of  half  red  and  half  blue,  is  theoretically  neu- 
tral, although  the  blue  tone  is  more  assertive 
than  the  red  and  makes  the  color  in  the  deeper 
shades  rather  sombre. 

Of  the  secondaries,  orange  is  an  advancing 
color ;  so  also  is  violet  in  the  shades  approach- 
ing red ;  green  in  the  shades  approaching 
yellow. 

Of  the  tertiary  colors  russet  is  an  advancing 
color,  because  while  it  contains  some  blue  in 
the  violet  of  its  composition,  it  contains  a  pre- 
ponderance of  red  and  orange ;  citrine  is  an 
advancing  color,  because  while  it  contains 


52 


Philosophy  o/*  Color 


some  blue  in  the  green  of  its  composition,  it 
contains  a  preponderance  of  yellow  and 
orange;  slate  is  a  receding  color,  because 
while  it  contains  some  yellow  in  the  green  of 
its  composition,  it  contains  a  preponderance 
of  blue ;  in  the  same  way  plum  may  be  re- 
garded as  an  advancing  color,  because  of  its 
preponderance  of  red ;  buff  is  an  advancing 
color,  because  of  its  preponderance  of  yellow ; 
sage  is  a  receding  color,  because  of  its  pre- 
ponderance of  blue. 

The  room  that  is  small  should  not  be  made 
smaller  by  the  use  of  advancing  colors,  or 
colors  which  seem  to  come  at  you  and  bring 
things  that  are  treated  therewith  into  closer 
range.  There  are  cases  where  a  small  room 
has  a  northern  exposure,  and  while  expedient 
to  treat  such  a  room  in  warm  colors  to  supply 
the  deficiency  of  sunlight,  it  is  inexpedient  for 
the  reason  that  such  colors  make  a  room 
look  smaller.  Under  such  circumstances 
treat  the  room  in  light  tones,  gray  preferred, 
and  get  the  deficiency  of  sunlight  through  the 
warm  tone  in  the  lace  curtains. 


11.    Color  of  Contigviovis  Rooms. 

A  VITAL  point  in  the  use  of  color,  re- 
garded usually  with  indifference  or 
totally  misunderstood,  is  the  Unity  of  Com- 
position to  be  preserved  in  the  treatment  of  a 
suite  of  rooms ;  for  on  each  floor  of  a  house 
the  conditions  of  light  vary.  As  we  ascend 
the  stairs  we  find  each  floor  requires  an 
altered  treatment.  Moreover,  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  a  floor  the  relation  of  one  room  to 
another  is  frequently  so  influential  that  no 
one  room  should  be  treated  without  due  con- 
sideration to  the  adjacent  apartment. 
Too  frequently  the  whole  question  of  color  is 
dismissed  when  the  matter  of  north  or  south 
exposure  is  discovered,  but  the  north  room  on 
the  lower  floor  of  a  house  is  by  no  means  so 
well  lighted  as  the  north  room  of  the  fourth 
or  fifth  floor,  and  the  scale  of  color  which 


54 


Philosophy  Color 


would  lend  warmth  to  such  a  room  would  be 
weak  in  a  more  exposed  apartment. 
Where  the  artist  has  but  one  room  to  con- 
sider there  is  little  scope  for  his  application 
of  color  knowledge.  He  must  frequently 
compromise  to  meet  the  conditions.  But 
presuming  that  he  must  treat  a  floor  through, 
he  should  adopt  a  Unity  which  will  apply 
harmoniously  to  all  the  rooms  and  hallways. 
Thus,  in  the  lower  floor  he  must  arrange  his 
colors  so  that  while  they  moderate  the  direct 
glare  of  a  sunny  exposure  or  brighten  the 
cheerlessness  of  a  north  light,  they  shall  also 
form  a  composition  that  pleases  when  seen 
from  a  point  of  common  observation.  The 
three-color  composition  is  always  desirable. 
The  hallway  green,  the  front  parlor  yellow,  the 
back  parlor  red,  would  form  a  treatment  which 
would  give  satisfaction  always,  for  the  view 
of  the  side-walls  from  any  point  would  be  in 
harmony.  Ascending,  however,  the  scale  of 
color  should  be  always  softened,  for  the  yellow 
or  ivory  tints  that  are  pleasing  on  the  first 
floor  would  be  harsh  and  glaring  on  the  upper 
floors.  Exterior  conditions  as  well  as  interior 
floor  plans  must  be  borne  always  in  mind. 


12.    Color  Harmony  by  Progression. 

npHE  harmony  of  analogy  is  a  subject  that 
is  little  understood.  The  harmony  of  re- 
lated color  is  usually  regarded  as  the  harmony 
of  tints  or  shades,  whereas  it  may  be  color 
sequence,  seriation,  development  or  succes- 
sion. 

Thus  we  may  combine  red,  green  and  blue  by 
starting  with  crimson  and  maintaining  the  fol- 
lowing sequence :  crimson,  red,  scarlet,  orange, 
yellow,  greenish  yellow,  green,  bluish  green, 
blue,  violet,  and  with  added  red  get  back  to 
crimson. 

A  room  or  a  series  of  rooms  may  run  to  all 
colors  and  be  still  a  harmony  of  analogy  if  the 
sequence  or  succession  is  gradual. 
No  more  delightful  harmonies  can  be  imagined 
than  those  provided  by  nature.  One  may  start 


56 


Philosophy 


with  the  brown  of  the  earth  and  run  into  sev- 
eral shades  of  green,  and  from  that  touch  upon 
yellow,  and  from  yellow  to  orange,  and  from 
orange  to  red,  and  red  to  violet  and  violet  to 
the  blue  of  the  sky. 

Green  and  yellow  seem  common  to  all  nature 
Color  tints.  Blue  is  the  color  reflected  from  the 
Scale  heavens.  In  the  home  nothing  is  more  pleas- 
ing than  the  harmony  of  sequence. 
In  speaking  of  colors  one  does  not  necessarily 
mean  primary  colors,  but  whatever  they  are 
they  must  be  of  the  same  scale  if  applied  to  a 
surface  upon  which  the  light  is  evenly  distrib- 
uted. Inasmuch  as  all  houses  are  subject  to 
the  influence  of  a  north  or  south  light,  or 
darkened  places,  an  exception  to  this  surface 
rule  must  be  observed.  Thus  the  ceilings  and 
the  upper  parts  of  a  wall  require  more  white 
where  more  light  is  needed.  On  the  floor, 
however,  where  the  greatest  light  falls,  a  little 
black  may  be  added  to  soften  the  tone. 
Red  and  green  are  sharply  contrasting  colors ; 
violet  and  yellow  and  blue  and  orange  con- 
trast sharply ;  but  it  will  be  seen  that  in  the 
diagram  presented  on  page  43  these  contrast 
ing  tones  are  not  in  contact. 


of  Color 


57 


Yellow,  orange,  red,  violet,  blue  and  green  are 
related ;  orange,  russet,  violet,  slate,  green  and 
citrine  are  related;  red,  violet,  blue,  green, 
yellow  and  orange  are  related.  Viewing  the 
ceilings,  the  side-walls  or  the  floor,  there  is 
the  harmony  of  seriation  that  we  observe  in 
the  tinting  of  a  flower.  Viewed  collectively 
the  harmony  is  the  same. 
To  illustrate  further  our  point  we  would  take 
the  ceiling  line.  We  start  with  yellow,  a  pri- 
mary color ;  orange  possesses  yellow ;  orange 
likewise  possesses  red,  the  adjoining  color; 
violet  possesses  red,  and  it  likewise  possesses 
blue.  On  the  side-wall,  russet  possesses 
orange,  and  it  also  possesses  violet ;  it  is  the 
tertiary  color  made  of  these  two  secondaries. 
Slate  is  made  of  green  and  violet,  and  is 
thus  also  related  to  citrine. 
We  do  not  wish  it  understood  that  these  col- 
ors are  to  be  applied  flat,  but  simply  in  the 
predominating  expression. 
The  value  of  the  diagram  is  obvious  when  one 
considers  that  in  no  particular  is  there  a  break 
in  the  sequence ;  but  if  we  wish  a  harmony  of 
analogy  in  a  room,  or  a  harmony  of  related 
parts,  and  wish  the  adjoining  room  to  be  in 


Philosophy  of  Color 


59 


absolute  contrast,  we  simply  adopt  the  red, 
violet  and  blue  for  one  room,  and  the  green, 
citrine  and  orange  for  another ;  or  the  orange, 
russet  and  violet  for  one  room,  and  the  blue, 
green  and  yellow  for  the  other.  If,  however, 
the  seriation  or  sequence  of  color  is  desirable 
where  we  move  from  one  apartment  to  an- 
other and  the  eye  is  pleased  by  a  gradual 
changing  color,  we  can  adopt  any  of  these 
combinations  in  the  order  as  presented. 
The  value  of  this  plan  may  be  very  easily  un- 
derstood in  laying  out  the  color  harmonies  for 
a  series  of  rooms.  Starting  from  a  central 
point,  the  color  must  assume  an  ascending 
scale  on  the  one  side  and  a  descending  scale 
on  the  other.  Viewed  from  the  extreme  ends 
of  the  apartment,  you  have  the  entire  range  of 
color. 

Thus  from  the  hallway  in  our  diagram  at  the 
bottom  of  page  58  let  us  turn  to  the  left  or 
right  and  we  have  a  complete  progressive  color 
harmony.  The  hallway  would  be  orange, 
citrine  and  green  (see  page  40) ;  the  library 
would  be  red,  orange  and  yellow ;  to  the  left 
we  have  the  color  combinations  5,  4  and  3. 


13.    PsycKolog'ic  Effect  of  Color. 

"^^^E  CAN  feel  the  softening  influences  of 
certain  color  treatments,  and  the  ex- 
citing and  disturbing  influences  of  sharp  con- 
trasts. We  know  that  those  colors  which  are 
strongest  in  direct  sun  rays,  like  red  and 
orange,  arouse  us,  where  the  blues  and  violets 
give  somnolence.  We  can  feel  the  power,  as 
with  music,  but  we  cannot  determine  the 
the  cause.  Professor  Palmer,  of  Harvard 
University,  in  discussing  the  subject,  asks  : 
**  Why  is  it  that  red  is  recognized,  by  man 
and  beast,  as  the  color  of  violence,  danger  and 
passion } " 

"  Why  is  green  soothing  to  the  senses } " 

"  Why  does  blue  quiet  the  nerves,  and  violet 

exercise  a  tranquilizing  effect  ?  " 

There  is  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that  nature 

provides  vast  fields  of  green  because  most 


Philosophy  of  Color 


6i 


favorable  in  its  effects  upon  humanity.  From 
time  immemorial  we  have  had  red  as  the  ex- 
citing color ;  it  is  the  "danger"  light;  it  is 
the  barbaric  color — the  war  color — the  vice 
color.  Professor  Fere,  of  Paris,  and  Professor 
Giardini  cite  innumerable  instances  of  the 
effects  of  red  light.  A  man,  for  instance,  ex- 
posed for  a  few  minutes  to  its  influence  will 
show  a  muscular  development  fifty  per  cent, 
in  excess  of  his  power  when  exposed  to  blue 
light.  Professor  Fere  is  confirmed  in  these 
conclusions  by  Pritchard  Davies  and  Munster- 
berg,  which  authorities  are  quoted  by  Pro- 
fessor Palmer. 

If  a  positive  physical  influence  is  exerted, 
as  proven  in  the  above  experiment,  how  much 
more  reasonable  may  we  regard  the  theory 
that  the  senses  and  the  temperament  are 
affected  t  We  have,  in  this  country,  expe- 
rienced the  "blue  glass"  craze.  We  know 
that  smallpox  is  subjected  to  the  "  red  room  " 
treatment,  and  we  know  that  the  exclusion  of 
the  blue  and  violet  shades  from  a  patient 
suffering  cutaneous  disease  reduces  the  irrita- 
tion of  the  skin.  Professor  Regnault,  of 
Paris,  in  an  article  recently  published  tells  of 


62 


Philosophy  of  Color 


innumerable  instances  where  blue  and  violet 
rays  are  used  successfully  in  the  treatment  of 
nervous  disorders,  and  where  red  is  success- 
fully employed  for  melancholia. 
It  is  within  the  probabihties  of  the  near 
future  that  we  will  have  color  music  as  we 
now  have  sound  melody.  The  vast  millions 
are  susceptible  to  the  influence,  and  in  matters 
decorative  a  full  and  broad  knowledge  and 
appreciation  of  the  subject  is  a  requisite  to 
success. 


14'.    Color  by  Periods. 

'  I  ^HE  student  in  decorative  art  is  so  fre- 
quently confronted  by  the  color  problem, 
that  doubtless  he  has  often  felt  the  need  of  a 
color  chart,  arranged  by  periods. 
The  idea  appears  on  its  face  reasonable,  but 
on  reflection  it  is  impossible.  Color  always 
has  been  and  always  will  be  dictated  by  na- 
tional or  personal  temperament,  whim,  terri- 
torial condition  or  home  surroundings ;  and 
no  fashion  can  ever  arbitrarily  fix  its  use.  We 
understand  color  as  strong,  primary  or  bar- 
baric when  associated  with  the  Eastern  coun- 
tries or  with  the  age  of  masculinity,  crusade, 
warfare  or  conquest,  as  opposed  to  the  age  of 
ruffles  and  laces  and  diletanteism. 
But  this  theory  is  not  infallible. 
In  the  time  of  Louis  XIV  and  Louis  XV  the 


64 


Philosophy 


work  of  La  Pautre,  Marrot  and  Berain  was 
unusually  vigorous,  and  embraced  every  color 
combination  possible  to  the  imagination;  so 
also  the  period  of  Louis  XVL  The  Palace  of 
Fontainbleau  and  Petit  Trianon  were  in  some 
features  gorgeous  in  color.  We  associate  with 
Marie  Antoinette  the  simple  stripe  effects 
and  delicate  florals,  but  we  doubt  if  there  is 
anything  more  elaborate  in  the  arts  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century  than  the  resplendent  col- 
orings of  her  palace  apartments. 
The  works  of  Fragonard  and  De  Wailley  were 
exceedingly  masculine,  and  far  removed  from 
the  character  of  the  work  of  Lalonde  and 
Salembier,  who  were  mainly  for  the  more  sim- 
ple forms. 

In  the  early  days  the  Egyptians  used  sharp 
blacks,  golds  and  primary  colors,  and  we  are 
told  that  strong  contrasts  were  necessary,  be- 
cause of  the  glare  of  the  dazzling  sunshine ; 
and  that  they  were  required  to  separate  the 
architectural  details  of  a  building,  which,  with 
less  powerful  contrasts,  would  be  indistin- 
guishable, and  yet  in  Oriental  countries  we 
find  that  strongly  contrasting  colors  were  used 
for  the  opposite  reason — because  agreeable 


of  Color 


65 


under  the  softening  influence  of  dimly  lighted 
surroundings. 

We  see  the  flat  colors  of  the  Greek,  Etruscan 
and  Pompeiian  age  and  we  imagine  they  are 
typical  of  the  period,  but  we  must  consider 
that  what  we  have  to-day  of  the  examples  of 
that  period  have  faded  and  are  emasculated, 
and  that  the  more  authentic  the  example,  the 
more  aged  it  is,  and  hence  the  more  weakened 
in  color  character. 

The  decorative  periods  were  affected  so  direct- 
ly by  the  territorial  conditions  of  the  past, 
which  means  temperament,  as  well  as  atmos- 
pheric influences,  that  it  is  unwise  to  apply 
arbitrarily  any  period  theory  to  a  country  as 
vast  as  the  United  States. 
As  we  utilize  certain  colors  for  the  north  room 
and  certain  other  colors  for  the  south  room, 
and  as  we  supply  a  deficiency  of  sunlight  by 
the  use  of  gold  and  yellow,  so  also  certain 
phases  of  color  are  effective  in  London  or 
Pittsburg,  which  would  be  garish  elsewhere. 
We  cannot  lift  the  colorings  from  the  Equator 
and  move  them  to  latitude  forty-two  and  get 
the  same  effect.  We  must  consider  broadly 
the  character  of  our  environments. 


66 


Philosophy 


If  our  furniture  is  white  and  gold,  it  is  clearly 
evident  that  the  colorings  should  be  soft  and 
harmonious.  If  we  adopt  the  dark  teakwood 
of  India  or  the  deep  brown  of  Holland,  our 
color  scheme  again  changes.  The  preponder- 
ance of  white  in  Colonial  rooms  was  due  to 
architectural  conditions.  White  illuminates ; 
and  in  the  days  when  our  ceilings  were  no 
higher  than  seven  and  a-half  feet,  and  our 
windows  were  small,  the  room  needed  an  arti- 
ficial light,  and  white  supplied  this;  conse- 
quently, by  its  general  use,  we  regard  white 
as  a  characteristic  of  Colonial  decoration,  but 
this  same  characteristic,  applied  to  a  twelve- 
foot  ceiling  and  huge  windows,  might  give 
unnecessary  glare,  unless  the  windows  were 
draped  in  modification. 

In  furnishing  an  Empire  room,  the  decorators 
have,  little  by  little,  led  themselves  to  believe 
that  what  is  known  as  Empire  green  is  the 
only  shade  of  green  that  is  correct.  On  the 
contrary,  green  was  used  in  the  period  of  the 
Empire  simply  because  it  was  in  pleasing  con- 
trast with  the  mahogany  and  brass.  Any 
green  which  harmonizes  with  the  shade  of 
woodwork  used  in  an  Empire  room  is  permis- 


of  Color 


67 


sible.  If  the  mahogany  is  dark,  a  dark  green ; 
if  light,  a  light  green^  so  long  as  it  is  warm  in 
tone. 

Egyptian  decoration  was  full  of  gold  and  bril- 
liant coloring,  and  a  popular  form  of  combina- 
tion was  the  Tryad  form  : 

Black,  yellow  and  red. 

Red,  blue  and  white. 

Dark  blue,  light  blue  and  white. 

Cream  color,  blue  and  black. 

Dark  red,  medium  yellow  and  dark  turquoise. 

The  Greek  decorators,  who  painted  in  fresco, 
used  white,  red,  blue,  yellow  and  black  in 
primary  tones.  Natural  marbles  were  much 
used  in  green  and  red  and  alabaster,  and 
bronze,  gold  and  isilver. 

The  Greeks  loved  color,  and  their  embroideries 
were  in  gold  and  blue  and  Tyrian  purple. 
Roman  coloring  was  but  a  continuance  of  the 
Greek,  characterized  by  dark  and  rich  back- 
grounds, which  were  frequently  black,  red  or 
deep  yellow  and  dark  blue,  on  which  figures 
and  landscapes,  or  animals,  or  groups  from 
still  life,  were  executed  in  bright  colorings  or 
powerful  contrasts.     Black  and  white  was 


68 


Philosophy 


used,  and  later,  when  the  Byzantine  artists 
and  craftsmen  found  their  way  to  Western 
Italy,  they  spread  this  love  of  bold  coloring, 
so  that  at  the  dawn  of  the  Renaissance  we 
find  a  return  to  the  Greek  and  Roman  color- 
ing, which,  however,  was  modified  in  Eng- 
land, Germany  and  Flanders,  according,  as  we 
have  frequently  said,  to  temperamental  con- 
ditions. 

We  find,  for  instance,  some  forms  of  Floren- 
tine decoration,  full  of  yellow,  red  yellow, 
blue-greens  and  bright  slate  blues.  We  find 
that  Botticelli  used  whites,  creams,  reds  and 
citron  greens,  with  umber  tones  heightened 
with  gold,  and  if  we  examine  carefully  the  Six- 
teenth and  Seventeenth  Century  Italian  bro- 
cades, which  are  preserved  in  the  museums, 
we  discover  a  great  preponderance  of  yellow- 
green  as  an  ornament  on  dark  violet,  or  light 
olive  green  on  dark  blue,  or  dull  orange  on  a 
crimson  brown. 

In  furnishing  a  period  room  we  must  use  no 
arbitrary  rule  in  determining  our  colors.  We 
must  apply  them  intelligently  to  the  condi- 
tions that  exist. 

The  Empire  period  room  takes  its  color  in- 


of  Color 


69 


spiration  from  the  Greek,  Roman  and  Egyp- 
tian. 

The  French  Renaissance  takes  inspiration 
from  the  Roman  and  Greek. 
The  Louis  XIV  is  a  development  of  the  Renais- 
sance, with  a  conspicuous  use  of  gold. 
The  Louis  XV  is  an  elaboration  along  the 
same  lines. 

The  Louis  XVI  is  a  simpUfication  and  a  re- 
turn to  the  classic. 

The  Georgian  is  largely  Roman  and  Pom- 
peiian,  as  expressed  by  the  Transition  period 
that  followed  Louis  XVL 

GreeK  and  IVoman  Color  Combinations. 

Yellow  and  blue,  alternating  with  lines  of  black. 
Black  and  white,  alternating  with  red,  blue,  purple, 
yellow. 

Warm  white  with  red  in  various  tones. 
Black  with  yellow,  ochre  and  umber  tints. 
Cobalt  blue  with  gray-green,  yellow  and  gray. 

Italian  Color  Combinations. 

Red,  blue  and  yellow. 

Coral  red,  ultramarine,  orange,  amber. 

Scarlet,  ochre,  green  and  violet. 

Orange,  green  and  violet,  purple,  yellow  and  gray- 
green. 


70 


Philosophy  6?/Color 


In  some  of  the  richest  early  Italian  fabrics 
we  find : 

Purple  and  sage-green  ornaments  on  indigo  ground ; 
outlines  in  gold. 

Dull  crimson,  pale  blue  and  chrome  yellow  ornaments 
on  a  dark  gray  ground. 

Pale  yellow-green  ornaments  on  a  deep  amber  ground. 

Dark  blue-green,  light  blue-greenish-yellow  and  orna- 
ments on  a  deep  crimson  ground. 

Pale  greenish-blue  ornaments  on  a  dark  gray-blue 
ground,  with  white  and  gold  picked  out  in  small 
quantities. 

Emerald  green  and  dull  orange  ornaments  on  a  dark 
gray-green  ground  outlined  in  gold. 

Here  we  have  the  color  combinations  used 
generally  in  the  Italian  period,  which  we  have 
followed  in  some  form  for  300  years. 
The  Adam  style  was  taken  directly  from  the 
Pompeiian,  but  in  most  cases,  instead  of  hav- 
ing the  Pompeiian  solid  color  background  in 
crimson,  with  a  design  lightly  executed  in 
gold,  or  black  and  gold,  he  puts  the  back- 
ground in  the  light  color,  and  does  the  design 
in  the  dark.  To  follow  strictly  the  Pompeiian 
style  would  be  too  garish. 


i 


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